What's Your Language?

Monday, September 17, 2012

The Mets continue to struggle

The New York Mets have once again fell off the map in the second half of the season. Going into the All-Star break, the Mets were 46-40; and looked like they were going to make a run for one of the two wild card spots in the second half. They had great pitching and fielding, and almost every player was hitting well at the plate. At one point, the Mets were leading all of baseball in producing runs with two outs.

Players were fundamentally strong, and mistakes were limited. However, the Mets started off atrocious in the second half, losing 11 of their first 12 games. It seemed like the Mets started to give up. However, there were a few bright spots despite struggling to win games. Ruben Tejada continued to not only play well in the field, but he was also hitting the ball. He continued to get multi-hit games, and was producing when the team needed him to. R.A Dickey also continued his success, blowing away hitters with his outstanding knuckleball.

Even though there were some bright sports, players were still struggling. Johan Santana was a little banged up, and pitching terribly. He was eventually shut down for the rest of the season after the organization decided it was best for his future with the team. Closer Frank Francisco was hurt for a little while, and Bobby Parnell stepped in and did what he does best; give up runs.

As the season went on, the starting lineup was filled with home-grown players. The only two players that are not home-grown are Andres Torres, who has been a huge disappointment, and Jason Bay, who is now platooning in left field. What the Mets were doing in the first half of the season, is now the opposite of what they have been doing. Lack of fundamentals, and players starting to quit. I like Terry Collins as a manager, but he has made some poor decisions this season. People are calling for him to be fired, but I disagree. I think he deserves at least one more season with the team. He needs a chance to work with Sandy Alderson to recruit players to the big apple.

Currently, the Mets are 66-80, and have a few September call ups they are experimenting with. The Mets are a very young team, and a team filled with young players isn't going to get you far. They need to make a splash in free agency and do something to help this team win. The All-Star game is at Citi Field next year, and the fans would be in a much better mood if the team was in contention. Will the Mets gamble on big time players in free agency? We shall see.